Baking and snack manufacturers are looking to fine-tune their operation at every turn, whether it’s boosting throughput, enhancing product consistency or reducing the need for skilled labor.

This is no different at the cooler or freezer, especially as many producers expand their operations to meet the growing demand from consumers and customers alike for convenient, retail-ready products.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for these machines to lose their cool out on the floor. Poor air filtration, for instance, can cause warm air to infiltrate temperature-controlled coolers and freezers and worsen their performance. And the harsh freezer environment can wreak havoc on baked goods or machine components if managed improperly. 

To avoid these problems, factors such as line speed, temperature and belting must all be homed in for bakers’ lines and the products they are running. Preventative maintenance and training are critical as well.

“Plan regular maintenance inspections to confirm that every part of the freezers or coolers is operating properly,” said Nicola Menardo, president of TP Food Group North America. “Train staff on the best practices for using freezers and coolers, including how to properly load, organize and maintain the equipment.”

By boosting throughput and product quality at the cooler and freezer while staying atop maintenance and training, bakers can ensure these machines stay cool and keep up with demand for quality baked goods and snacks.

Fast and efficient 

Many producers want to maximize their throughput, and there are numerous ways to accomplish this at the cooler or freezer. Two obvious methods are to run these machines colder and faster. However, this may not be practical for some operations, noted Jordan Smith, senior applications engineer, JBT. Running colder, for example, comes with higher energy costs that producers may not be able to afford. And freezing too quickly can crack products like cakes, pies and some types of bread, said John Bauer, freezer product line manager, JBT. 

However, smaller changes to a cooling or freezing operation can still make a big difference. 

“The throughput of an existing freezer or cooler can be increased by dramatically reducing the amount of warm, moist air infiltration at the conveyor openings, reducing the number of times the doors into the process area are opened and closed, and improving the cleaning of the tubes and fins of their refrigeration coils,” said Peter White, president of IJ White Systems.

The company’s Ultra Series Freezers and Coolers, for example, automatically control infiltration at the infeed and discharge of spiral freezers or coolers using an auto-pressurization system, ensuring product reaches its desired temperature more quickly.

Producers looking to increase throughput should also ensure the capacities of their equipment match up across the line. Smith noted this often isn’t the case, resulting in production bottlenecks.

“If a freezer sized for 10,000 lbs per hour is sitting behind an oven that is only sized for 5,000 lbs per hour, it can only freeze 5,000 lbs per hour,” she said. “Bakeries have so many pieces of equipment in a single line that it can be especially challenging. To avoid this problem, bakers should make sure they’re asking for the same things from all their equipment vendors (especially related to capacity and loading patterns).”

David Bogle, conditioning platform lead engineer, Intralox, stressed that understanding all the potential bottlenecks on a line is critical to maximizing capacity. 

“It could be dwell time, meaning that a product needs a certain amount of time in the system to achieve the desired temperatures,” he explained. “Secondly, it could be a system speed limitation from the maximum speed of the spiral or amperage of the motors are at maximum. Finally, it could be a product orientation or quality issue. Once the true bottleneck is known, then a plan can be put in place to remove that bottleneck or at least make it better.”

Bakers should also plan for additional capacity down the road to avoid future bottlenecks.

“I think the most frequent challenge bakers make when planning a freezer is not anticipating well enough for their own success,” said Bryan Hobbs, director of factory service, Ashworth Bros. Inc. “Capacity constraints often tend to develop years after the freezer is installed, and increasing the capacity at that point can be far more expensive than simply adding that availability in the initial design.” 

Throughput is further limited by available floor space, which is often at a premium in baking and snack facilities. 

“There are many ways to solve these issues such as using a cooler that can be located outside of the facility where the product can travel in and out,” said Arthur Mrumlinski, application engineer, Eaglestone. “It all comes down to working with the customer to determine the best possible solution for their needs.”

This article is an excerpt from the November 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Cooling & Freezing, click here.